


It Takes a Village

by DisgruntledPelican



Series: Rose's in Bloom [3]
Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Adoption, Future Fic, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mentions of Episode: s05e07 Whisper of Desire, Panic Attacks, Sibling Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 10:09:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20289721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DisgruntledPelican/pseuds/DisgruntledPelican
Summary: David and Patrick decide to adopt. Their social worker makes a comment that reminds David of a very specific time when he wasn't so great with kids. Patrick and Alexis are there to ease his mind.





	It Takes a Village

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third installment of my exploration into the unique sibling dynamic of Alexis and David. Those two are so fun to write! Thank you to samwhambam and lucianowriter for helping me get this idea off the ground. 
> 
> And thanks to EmuFume for *literally* cheering me on when I was nervous to post. Apparently, I am always nervous to post? Well... here goes! I hope you enjoy :)

Madelyn was very nice. Though, could definitely use some style upgrades. But, according to Patrick, ones fashion sense (or lack of) was not a good enough reason to request a different social worker to guide them through the process of adoption. David suspected Patrick’s fondness for her was mostly due to her being ridiculously smitten over Patrick’s spreadsheets outlining what needed to be completed, at what time, and by whom. So smitten, in fact, that she offhandedly said that once they were all settled with their future child, Patrick should share his spreadsheet with other clients of hers. 

David got the best sex of his fucking life that night. 

Every time David and Patrick had met with Madelyn had been in her office. They’d spent quite some time there going over paperwork, their personal information, finances, and preferences. 

But tomorrow, Madelyn was conducting the home visit. David and Patrick had spent a truly ridiculous amount of time making sure their home was ready. Each doing things their own way, of course. David had obsessively designed and decorated a room that could meet the developmental needs of a child anywhere between the ages of 3-5. Complete with an inviting reading area stocked with books, a fully functional crafting corner, and a closet set to be properly organized no matter if it was full of dresses, baseball costumes, or both. 

At the same time, Patrick made sure all nooks and crannies were free of dirt, dust, and spiders. He cleaned the toilets, mopped the floors, washed the windows, cleaned the inside of the refrigerator, and by 11pm the night before Madelyn’s scheduled home visit, he was exhausted. They both were. 

As they lay in bed together, both knew sleep would be minimal that evening, and they both took long sighs of… something. Relief that their home looked and smelled amazing? Nerves over the impending visit the next morning? Or maybe just pure exhaustion because of the amount of work they’d devoted to it. David pressed his back to Patrick’s bare chest, his sensitive neck becoming fully aware of Patrick’s inhales and exhales. Patrick’s hands splayed low across his husband’s stomach, playing with the coarse hair that coated the area. Both men taking time to appreciate the other’s skin against their own. 

Eventually, their breathes grew more staggered, hand movements less purposeful, and each man let sleep take them. 

Patrick woke the next morning at 5am. He’d learned long ago that his normal 7am internal alarm clock sounded much earlier when any strong emotions were present in his mind. David woke around 10am, startled. He’d wanted to do one last walk through of the entire house before Madelyn arrived at 11. Patrick tried to convince him that the house was perfect, he didn’t have to do yet another walkthrough, and could complete his morning routine with enough time for a cup of coffee before 11. As a compromise, because David had recently figured out those worked both ways, Patrick completed the final walkthrough, while David did his morning routine and drank a cup of coffee. 

At 11:04, the doorbell rang. 

Madelyn made her way through the house. Complementing many aspects of the home David and Patrick had made together. 

When they finally made it to the bedroom that David had spent so much time perfecting, Madelyn was speechless. She walked into the room and took a few moments to simply take in all of it’s different aspects. Finally, she turned back to David and Patrick. Patrick smiled with pride and took a step back, leaving David standing slightly in front of him, to make sure Madelyn knew exactly who was responsible for the creation of the beautifully designed space she had just inspected. 

Finally, she spoke, “This room is going to be a safe and warm place for a very lucky little boy or girl. And I’m so excited that I’m going to be here to see their face when it happens.”

Patrick clapped his hands on David’s shoulders, somewhat shaking him out of his currently shocked state, turned him around, and hugged him with all his might. 

When they made their way back to the living room, Madelyn had a few more questions to cover. David made them tea, but she didn’t stay long. Both men stood as she went to leave. 

“Thank you so much for everything so far, Madelyn.” Patrick said as he shook her hand. 

Madelyn moved on to shake David’s hand, “I’m so happy for you both. I can’t wait to see you with your future little tike.”

And with that, Madelyn was off. Probably to her next home visit. Or back to the office to start the next step of the Brewer-Rose adoption process. 

Unfortunately, her closing remarks had also sent David’s mind off… snowballing in a spiral he hadn’t expected. 

_ Little tike. Oh god. Little fucking tike. I’m going to be a parent to a little tike. The kind of little tike that Roland, of all fucking people, had brought into Rose Apothecary one day. The day that I was left with a little tike. And I had no fucking clue what to do with it. Him. Not it, David. Fuck. Get your shit together. Or at least. Just don’t lose your shit in front of Patrick.  _

David couldn’t stay, he had to get out. 

“I have some work to do at the store,” he lied. And left before Patrick had time to question him. 

David’s breathing was becoming increasingly difficult and vision obscured with tears, but he was able to safely make it to Rose Apothecary. By now, he could probably find his way to the store blindfolded by relying on muscle memory alone. 

He somehow managed to get the door unlocked, opened, closed, and locked again in a matter of seconds. Unfortunately, his body just couldn’t make it to the back room. Which meant his back was pressed to the front of the register counter, on display in the middle of the front floor, when Patrick found him. David couldn’t determine if it had been 2 minutes or 2 hours that he was sitting there, sobbing, wringing his hands, all while making valiant attempts to take full breaths… to no avail. 

“Sweet heart, talk to me.” Patrick spoke softly. He’d positioned himself next to David. Allowing their arms to touch, but not much more. Not wanting to overstimulate David’s already heightened senses. 

“I have no right trying to be a parent.” And David believed those words. 

_ What does it even mean to be a parent? To raise a child? What would that even look like? Minivans? Soccer practices in the heat? Fucking Cub Scouts? Camping… in the woods? Oh god. Cheerleading?  _

“David, no one thinks they’re ready to be a parent. It’s something you learn along the way.”

_ Oh god. Patrick was so perfect. He was going to be the perfect parent. And this. Could this finally be the thing that sends Patrick running away from me? Except now, he would be running away with a child. Which would probably make it harder to get away, because children move slow. But also, I would love them both. I already do. Oh god. I haven’t even met this child, and I’ve already loved and lost them.  _

“David, I need you to hear the words I’m going to say to you. So when you’re ready, please look at me.”

Another 2 minutes or 2 hours later, David’s neck and back muscles relaxed enough for him to look up and into Patrick’s concerned eyes.

“I will never walk away from you. No matter the scenario playing out right now in your head... believe me when I tell you this. I’m here. I’ll always be here. With you.”

_ Patrick isn’t lying. He loves me. For whatever reason, he really does. I’ll have just to work so fucking hard to figure out parenting. Raising a child. There’s probably books about. Didn’t that guy from outer space write a book about? Spack? No, Spock? Ugh, Ted talked about him once. Or twice. I’ll ask Ted. _

“I don’t know anything about being a parent. Why would you want to raise a child with me?”

“Because I’m incomplete without you.” Patrick shrugged. Like this was the easiest thing in the world for him to say. 

_ Ugh, how is he so perfect. He’s going to be an amazing dad. I can’t let my imperfect-ness take that away from him. I’ll figure it out. He’ll teach me. Patrick and Spack/Spock and Ted will help.  _

After another few minutes, David was finally able to inhale deeply. With Patrick’s guidance and soothing voice, he took several deep breaths. He stretched his fingers, his hands, his legs. Relaxing his tense muscles. Eventually, they left the store and headed home. They left one car there, David not wanting to drive or be alone; and Patrick not wanting to leave his side. 

********************

Uncharacteristically, Patrick didn’t mention the panic attack to David over the next few days. Usually, Patrick would want to debrief the events leading up to one of David’s panic attacks, discuss David’s thought during the event, and ask David’s opinion on how Patrick handled it. David was suspiciously convinced Patrick had some sort of spreadsheet to catalogue the experiences. But David didn’t have enough solid evidence to make any accusations. 

A week went by, and David almost brought up the event one evening after a startlingly good pizza, but chose to simply enjoy the evening with his husband. They were laid out on the couch, surfing Netflix, when Patrick’s phone buzzed. David saw Alexis’ name on the screen. 

“Ignore her. She can wait.” He whined. 

Patrick removed his arm from around David’s shoulder. “Nahh, I just see what’s up.”

“”What’s up” is probably some Town Council related emergency.” David said as he started kissing and licking the sensitive parts of Patrick’s ear and neck. 

Patrick leaned away, “One second, David.”

“What does she want?” David probed. Starting to get curious about what Alexis and Patrick could be talking about that caused Patrick to ignore his lips and tongue. 

“Nothing.” Patrick said, nonchalantly. Locking his phone. “Where were we?” He said, leaning over to return the attention David attempted to give him. 

David didn’t have the willpower to resist. 

The next morning, David woke up to a text from Alexis. 

**Alexis** : Lunch? Cafe? 12:30? 

**David** : Delivery arriving at 12. Rain check. 

**Alexis** : Oh. Okay. 

David set about starting his morning routine. He heard Patrick’s phone ring but couldn’t hear any of the conversation. He’d hoped it wasn’t Chris delaying their order. He hated running so low on products and Chris’ honey and oatmeal lotion bars were very popular. 

“Morning hun.” Patrick said, interrupting David’s morning routine. Rude. 

“Uh. Hi?”

“So, just letting you know. The delivery today will be a small one, so as long as we’re both there and one of us can be in the store while the other is helping Chris unload his products, it should all be done by 12:20, 12:25 at the latest.”

“Okay? Why are you telling me this?”

“Oh. No reason. Just thought… ya know, if you wanted to plan your day…. you’d like to have all… pertinent… information.”

“So I should text Alexis back and tell her I can have lunch with at 12:30?”

“Oh Alexis wants to have lunch with you today?”

“You’re so bad at this. Yes. I’ll have lunch Alexis. Now. Can I please finish getting pretty.”

“You’re already pre…”

“Stop. I love you, too. Please leave.”

Patrick shook his head, stole one more glance at his husband, and left. Just seconds before David closed the door on him. 

David worked the store while Patrick and Chris unloaded the order. He wondered how much of his panic attack had already been shared with Alexis. He didn't mind. He knew Patrick, Stevie, and Alexis all shared important David-related information with each other. 

At 12:25, Patrick came in and excused David for lunch. 

David walked into Cafe Tropical to see Alexis had already sat down in a booth. He scooted in across from her. 

“You know, you and Patrick are horrible at conspiring together.” David accused. 

“That button can’t keep a secret from you. It’s disgusting.”

“My heart attack was like, two weeks ago. I’m fine now. But thanks.” 

“Panic attack, David.” Alexis corrected. “And I’m sure Patrick had all the right things to say to calm you down. But he and Ted still don't fully understand our childhood. Thank goodness.”

She sighed. Thoughts of nights alone, being lost in foreign countries, and days at a time spent in embassies rushed through her mind. 

“We’re pretty fucked up, aren’t we?” David spoke. Ending their mutual mini-spiral. 

“We used to be. But it could have been worse. I mean, we’re alive. We made it to Schitt's Creek. That wasn’t a guarantee, David. You saved my life so many times.” Alexis said, proudly. Double-eye winking at David. 

“That’s different.” He dismissed. “Any child we may end up adopting won’t need saving like that. They’ll need someone to raise them. I don’t know anything about that.”

“Ugh David. It’s not just about keeping them alive.”

“That’s literally what I just said, Alexis.”

“Right. But you did more than just keep me alive.”

David didn’t have any idea what she was talking about. “I don’t think insulting my child’s endless parade of boyfriends or girlfriends counts as raising them.”

“It doesn’t count very much. You’re right.” Alexis hesitated before gently pawing at David’s hand to make sure she had his attention. “But helping them pick out their outfit for the first day of school counts.”

David looked up at her. He remembered Alexis crying the night before her first day of 2nd grade because she didn’t know what to wear. And then coming back each year of elementary school. 

“And weren’t you the one who invited all my friends to my sixth birthday party after the miserable party mom and dad threw me for me the year before? Where they only invited their own friends and business associates?”

“I guess.” David shrugged his shoulders while his hands remaining clasped in his lap. 

“You asked Adelina to make me a strawberry cake.”

“That was your favorite.” He said, somewhat shyly. 

“Mom and dad didn’t even have a cake at my fifth birthday. But you told me to make a wish anyway.” Alexis spoke softly, her eyes never leaving David’s face. 

David couldn’t believe Alexis remembered any of that.

After a few moments, she pawed at his hand again to get his attention. Then she tucked them in her lap before she started speaking. 

“And even though it was the most awkward conversation I’d had in my life at the time, after I started dating Rocky you explained to me all the reasons I should use condoms and made an appointment for me to get birth control.” They both grimaced remembering how mortifying that was. 

“That was horrible.” David grumbled, avoiding eye contact. 

“It was. It was gross.” Alexis paused. Waiting for David’s eyes to settle. “But it worked, David. And no one else in my life ever had that conversation with me. I mean… thank goodness, because it’s gross to talk about. But it’s even more disgusting if you don’t talk about it.”

“Okay. I get it. Thank you, Alexis.” David said, sincerely. 

Alexis noticed that her brother’s features had softened slightly since he first sat down, but they still held some apprehension. 

“But?” Alexis questioned. 

“But we were horrible people when we moved here. I mean, maybe not horrible. But certainly not… good.” David confessed. 

“Mhmm. Yep. We definitely weren’t good.” 

“So how am I supposed to raise a child that’s good? I want my kid to actually have a chance at happiness without being fucking miserable first. How am I going to give them that, if I didn’t even know what actual happiness was until I was thirty.”

Alexis laughed out loud. “Thirty, David? Yeah right.”

“Ugh. Die of skunk poisoning, Alexis!” 

Alexis dismissed the weak insult. “David. You’re still here. This town that helped raise us, even as adults, and helped us become better people… we’re still part of it.” 

“I don’t know what you mean.” Davis confessed. Gesticulating with his hands the need for Alexis to explain herself. 

“We’re still part of this town, David. I’m basically the Mayor.”

“Okay, being on Town Council doesn’t make you Mayor.”

“I said basically, David! Anyhow! Your business is the biggest success this town has seen since my Singles Week.” David let that one slide. He knew better than to downplay the significance of that event to his sister. 

Alexis continued, “You know that Ronnie will teach your kid all about Roland and Bob and Ray, so you don’t have to worry about that. And Jocelyn will make sure they have all the best teachers. Stevie will scare the other kids so no one messes with them! You know she either went to school with all the kid’s parents or she’s distantly related to them. She’s kinda scary. But she’s on your team David!”

David felt some overwhelming feelings, again. He felt his heart racing. His eyes welling up. But this was different. He wasn’t sure what exactly this feeling was yet. 

Alexis continued, “Twyla will make sure they’re fed. And sometimes she can tell their future! This town helped us before they even knew us. Can you imagine how much they’re going to love your kid, David?”

David hadn’t considered that. This town, these people took them in when they literally had nothing. These people accepted the Rose family, when they were actively trying to get the fuck out as quickly as possible. And now… now he’s settled here. He contributes. He’s built his life here. A life he’s immensely proud of. 

Alexis continued, “As ridiculous as it sounds, we’re part of Schitts Creek, David. You and me.” She paused. “And… you and Patrick. This town loves you two, so much David.” 

“Holy shit, Alexis.”

David realized what the feeling was… that overwhelming feeling in his gut… was some combination of fondness and appreciation and love. All for this town. This town he once hated so deeply that he stole a truck, Roland’s fucking truck, just to get away for a few nights. This town that sent him into what he was sure, at the time, was a pulmonary embolism. This town with no doctor, except a Vet. One restaurant. A semi-operational gas station/car dealership/mechanic. A terrible sign with an even worse mini-sign attempting to explain the main sign. No clothing stores. One bench. A rec-center with a tennis court that’s been nonfunctional for years. One beauty shop that produces one hair style. And one beautiful general but very specific store with owners proud to live here. 

“What?” Alexis questioned. 

David looked up at her. That lopsided smile plastered on his face and his dimples popping brightly. 

“I’m going to be a dad.”


End file.
